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The Publisher Summit & Awards: Key Themes

With just a month to go until The Publisher Summit & Awards 2026, here are some of the key themes, sessions and speakers attendees can look forward to on the day.

This year’s Publisher Summit brings together newsletter, app, podcast, print and event case studies, showcasing what leading publishers are doing to grow audiences and revenue.

As it becomes ever more difficult to acquire audiences and revenue through search and social, building and strengthening direct audience connections will be vital to surviving and thriving as publishers.

The Summit is designed for those working at the forefront of publisher products, from editorial and operations leaders to senior decision-makers and practitioners. The day will be heavily focused on practical tips and takeaways you can apply to your own work.

Tickets are now available but we have a strict capacity limit at the venue, so don’t delay booking!

The Publisher Summit 2026 key themes

Quality over quantity

The idea of quality over quantity is one publishers have espoused in theory. But the business of digital publishing has pushed many in the opposite direction, publishing as much content as possible in the hope of a few viral hits.

As pressures on traffic and discovery grow, coupled with the bombardment of AI ‘slop’, there is an opportunity to lean into a true ‘quality over quantity’ ethos, and reap the benefits.

We have a panel exploring how publishers have been actively embracing publishing fewer but higher-quality articles and newsletters, and the measurable impact this has had on audience growth, conversion, and subscriber retention. Maire Bonheim, Head of Newsletters at The Telegraph, Malcolm Coles, Audience Growth Director at Hearst UK and Anna Sbuttoni, Deputy Head of Digital at the Times and Sunday Times will be sharing their stories and practical tips.

That’s not the only place the quality over quantity principle is coming up. Liz Settle, MD of Good Housekeeping will be sharing how a back-to-basics strategy helped their 104-year-old brand deliver their biggest year ever. And Joanne Birtwistle, Editorial Director at SIFT will outline how developing high-value editorial products has helped shape their audience strategy and commercial outcomes.

The video podcast debate

Everywhere you look in the podcasting world, the video debate rages. The data seems to overwhelmingly point to video being a mechanism to supercharge audience growth and podcast discovery, but is it something all podcasts should be doing?

We’ve brought together a panel of leading podcast publishers, including The Observer’s Alice Sandelson and Goalhanger’s Nicole Logan, to showcase where they’re seeing success in video podcasting and audio-only delivery.

We also have a special Masterclass led by one of the industry’s leading video strategists, Immediate’s Paul Doyle. Paul will help attendees evaluate where video podcasting may or may not be a good fit, and what to consider when turning the cameras on.

Building direct audience relationships

This is a vital thread which goes through so many of our sessions at The Publisher Summit, from Tobi Oredein’s session on how events drive membership and community for Black Ballad to Liz Wynn talking about how the Guardian’s investment in apps, newsletters podcasts and websites is paying off.

There’s a panel looking specifically at how apps can help power direct audience relationships, and become quality destinations for people seeking refuge from AI slop. We also have a Masterclass exploring how to turn audiences into loyal – and paying – communities, led by editorial expert Sarah Ebner. She will show how publishers can create stronger audience relationships through engagement, habit, community and distinctive voice, and what this means for subscriptions, membership, advertising and events.

Newsletters as product powerhouses

Some may be wondering when the ‘newsletter bubble’ is going to burst. But if the Publisher Newsletter Awards shortlist is anything to go by, the answer is, not any time soon!

Sarah Donaldson will be sharing the story of newsletter-first start-up The Nerve, launched by a group of five former Observer journalists. In less than a week after launching, it had hit 8,000 sign-ups and more than 1,000 paying members, without a paywall. Seven months later, they have over 30,000 free subscribers, and a paid conversion rate more than triple the industry standard.

We’ll be diving deeper into examples of how newsletters supercharge growth in other areas of a publishing business on a panel featuring POLITICO’s Kate Day, and others to be announced.

Our final panel of the day will discuss another topic many publishers are grappling with: the opportunities and pitfalls of publishing on other platforms. On the one hand, publishers have a lot to gain from publishing in places audiences are looking for writing. But there are always trade-offs to consider, from wider reputational issues with some platforms, to the question of audience ownership. Reach plc’s Rob Parsons and Prospect’s Ben Clarke will be sharing their experiences of publishing to Linkedin and Substack, and what advice they have for others.

The day will finish with summer networking drinks in our gorgeous festival venue, HUCKSTER, just a few minutes walk from Paddington. The Publisher Newsletter and Podcast Awards will follow afterwards, with bowl food on the terrace in between ceremonies.

Tickets are excellent value for an industry event, with lessons applicable across many different products, so why not bring the team?

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